BMJ  2006;332:1095 (6 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7549.1095-b

Letter

Policing of information from internet breast cancer list

"List mining" raises new issues in research ethics

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—"List mining" can be defined as the use, for research purposes, of messages sent to internet based mailing lists. The ethical questions raised by list mining are especially important for health related lists. For example:

  • Should the people who were the original sources of messages sent to such lists properly be regarded as "research subjects"? This perspective raises questions pertaining to privacy, informed consent, whether the research is intrusive and has potential for harm, and whether the list should be perceived as "private" or "public" space
  • Should they be regarded as "published authors"? Although most participants may not even regard themselves as "amateur authors," issues of copyright and proper attribution are to be considered if messages sent to such lists are cited verbatim
  • Should they be regarded as "members of a community"? If so, how best to deal with individuals in such communities whose messages may need to . . . [Full text of this article]

James E Till, professor emeritus

University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M5S 1A1 till@uhnres.utoronto.ca


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Accuracy and self correction of information received from an internet breast cancer list: content analysis
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